Like Son, Like Father
by Erratta
Summary: Jack wishes he could share his son’s problems and gets more that he bargained for...
1. Chapter 1

_Jack wishes he could share his son's problems and gets more that he bargained for... _

**Like Son, Like Father**

_Short first chapter, but I seem to be good at that. Following chaps should be longer, but I'm not promising anything. I don't own Danny Phantom._

Jack Fenton was worried about his son. He had been coming home late and injured for almost a year now. He was constantly skittish and spent most of the time he was home in his room. He never seemed to get enough sleep, even when Jack knew he'd been in bed all night. He and his wife, Maddie, had thought that summer vacation would do their son good and give him time to rest up and relax, but it hadn't happened. If anything, the boy seemed more stressed out than normal.

It was obvious that Danny was lying about something, as were his friends Sam and Tucker, but Jack had been unable to find out what it was. He had talked to Vice-Principal Lancer on several occasions and found out that Danny had constantly received detentions for property damage and lateness throughout the last school year. That was worrying too. He thought he and Maddie had done a good job teaching their children proper behaviour and respect, but Danny almost seemed to flaunt that at every turn.

About the same time that Danny had started behaving strangely, his complete indifference to his parents' ectoweapons had changed into an interest, if not the fascination that Jack had hoped for from his son. Whenever Jack unveiled a new gadget, Danny always followed the same pattern. Cringe, run, avoid parents, come into lab nervously later and find out the basics, completely forget about the invention. A strange pattern, but if the boy was showing an interest, Jack could live with the other stuff.

The front door slammed and Jack was brought out of his reverie.

"Hi, Mr. Fenton! Danny kinda crashed his scooter and we're taking him up to his room. The injuries aren't bad, but he needs to rest. We'll do the first aid, so don't get up!"

That was another thing. Danny got into a lot of strange scenarios that resulted in him being injured. Jack was sure that at least some of those events had been made up to cover for whatever he was hiding, and he was pretty sure most of the others were directly related to the Something regardless.

Maddie assured him that he was being paranoid. Danny was a teenager and just needed his space. He was clumsy, sure, but it was just a phase. There was nothing wrong with him. And the disrespect he was showing in school, well, that did need to be dealt with, which is why parents invented grounding, curfews, and withholding allowances. Unfortunately, even with that, Danny seemed to get into just as much trouble as always. Jack didn't believe the paranoia argument, even if his daughter, the budding psychologist, agreed with it. Something was up.

However, being a good father and an understanding person, Jack knew that confronting Danny wouldn't get him anywhere, and would likely damage their relationship. So he'd just have to wait and hope Danny eventually trusted him enough to tell him his troubles.

"I wish I could share your problems, son. I really want to help you, and I don't think you can handle this on your own, even if you're trying to." Jack had buried his face in his hands, like he often did when he was worried, so didn't notice the unearthly green smoke swirling around him. But he did think he caught a husky female voice say, "As you have wished it, so shall it be." He dismissed that as his imagination and headed downstairs to tinker on his latest invention.

_A/N: So, I guess I'm making a habit of weird becoming-halfa fics. Just thought this might be interesting to write. And hopefully this'll be the last one. Unless I go the other way at some point, but I don't know how that would work._


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow. I was _not_ expecting this sort of response. Over 100 hits in the first twelve hours alone. Normally I don't post this quickly, but I promised myself that the next chapter would go up after 200 hits, and I've reached that. Thanks to everyone who checked out the story, and especial thanks to linkmaste, Kristin Singer, jacketslacker, Karen Richmond, Emma Zule, TallieCat, phantomshadowdragon, QH Reiner, and Possessed Angel for reviews, alerts, favs and stuff. I appreciate it! It just gets better, guys (though I'm sad to say that most of the chapters are pretty short.)._

It was Friday night and Jack was alone for a few hours, since his daughter Jazzmine had talked Maddie into taking her to a psychology lecture at the library and Danny was over at Sam's for a movie marathon. He decided to use the time to sort out all the strange things he'd been noticing the last few weeks, and get to the bottom of the mystery once and for all. It was starting to unnerve him, and for a ghost hunter that's saying something. Jack tapped his pencil against his chin thoughtfully.

There was the Fenton Profiler. It was supposed to give power readings for ghosts within thirty feet, but had been giving readings for Danny since he'd built it. Two weeks ago it had started giving him readings too. Apparently Jack was a 6.0 (Cringe and Duck). This malfunction wasn't really anything to worry about, because everything he'd invented malfunctioned around Danny (8.3 Find Shelter Quickly). It wasn't a big leap to think it could malfunction around someone else too.

There was the clumsiness. Jack was clumsy at the best of times, but these last few weeks he'd been stumbling more, dropping things more, and not being able to grasp equipment, or anything else for that matter. Thing was, Jack's motor movements were fine. Maddie had checked them. So why was he so much more maladroit now? Probably just a bad period.

There was the complete ignoring of Jack by the rest of the family. They had all been known to tune out his "blatherings" from time to time, even Maddie, but it was quite uncommon for Jack to be ignored when he walked into a room, for instance. Everyone was acting like he simply wasn't there sometimes. They'd even looked straight through him. Jack had noticed that Danny was more skittish than usual when Jack was, for want of a better word, "invisible," but Danny _was_ jumpy all the time. Nothing to worry about. Just his son being himself.

It wasn't just his entire body that would go invisible either. Sometimes Jack would notice that a hand or a leg or something else would just disappear, usually at very awkward moments. He was forced to run off and try to return to normal. He was surprised to learn that he had control over it, to some extent. Concentration was key, but being at that level of alertness all the time was difficult. At least running off was something he often did anyway, so nobody seemed to think anything was out of the ordinary. Except maybe Danny, who had been giving Jack a few odd looks. Well, at least Danny was awake enough to be worried about his dad. That was comforting.

Then there was the cut he'd gotten in the lab yesterday. He'd been welding and a piece of metal had slipped and gashed his leg. Jack had gotten the bleeding under control quickly, but something was off. There seemed to be ectoplasm in his blood, here and there. Jack put it down to contamination from one of the beakers that had been nearby. Oddly enough, there wasn't even a trace of the injury now. Jack was no doctor, but he'd been hurt enough in the lab to know that wounds weren't meant to heal that fast. He couldn't explain that one away.

Jack paused and read over the list again. _Profiler, clumsiness, invisibility, ectoplasm, wound._ Jack had the feeling that he should know what they were pointing too, that he should be able to figure out what was going on. So far everything indicated he was a ghost, but that was impossible. He'd know if he'd died and his family wouldn't be taking it as lightly as they were. No, he couldn't be a ghost, so there had to be some other explanation. Jack just couldn't think of it at the moment. What was it Maddie always said? "Sleep on it, Jack. The answer will come in the morning."

Sleep on it. Good idea. Jack headed upstairs and changed into his pajamas. He went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and froze in mid stroke. He'd caught his reflection in the mirror. Or rather, his _lack of reflection_. According to the mirror, his toothbrush was floating in mid air. He couldn't explain that by saying he wasn't being noticed, or that the mirror was broken. It did work for the toothbrush, after all. Jack concentrated and watched himself come into focus. Maybe he really was a ghost. So why didn't he look it?

He needed corroboration. Something to prove conclusively whether he was dead or not. What could ghosts do that he couldn't explain any other way? Fly. Ghosts could fly. Jack pictured himself hovering several feet above the bathroom floor. He looked down after a while and paled. He really _was_ hovering several feet above the bathroom floor, and it wasn't just an illusion because he could make out his torso in the mirror.

In shock, Jack concentrated on touching the floor again. Once he was safely back on the ground it fully hit him.

He was dead, and he didn't even remember dying.


	3. Chapter 3

_So I've decided to keep posting chapters once the latest one gets 200 hits. So, as an award for continued interest, here's Chapter 3!_

_Thanks to TallieCat, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse, coolgirlc, GhostBoy814, CalicoKitty13, dPhantoMfreak, Anomaly25, Chaltab, Halfa Mari-Naruko, Jenna Dax, Officer 1BDI, kawaii chibi shun, and Rob Phantom. You guys are awesome!_

Jack spent the next few hours sitting in dumb shock on his bed. He was terrified, and for good reason. His thoughts kept cycling in his head and bled into each other.

Jack was a ghost hunter and he was a ghost. He was meant to be hunting himself and others like him. That was hypocritical. He couldn't do it. He _wouldn't_ do it. Did that mean he should give up ghost fighting? But he couldn't give it up, because then people would get suspicious, and he didn't want anyone to find out he was dead, because he'd have to watch them grieve and he wouldn't be able to stand the pain that would cause him. But he couldn't hunt ghosts because he would be around equipment that could seriously hurt him. But he _had to_, so that others wouldn't get hurt.

As a ghost hunter and researcher, Jack knew that ghosts were evil. It followed that he was evil. But Jack didn't want to be evil, and he certainly didn't feel it. Was he going to become evil as time went on? Was he going to kill his family in a fit of rage? He needed to leave to protect them, but he couldn't, because he had to stay to protect them from other ghosts. Jack's heart was too honest and too good to stand the thought of those he loved getting hurt, especially by his hands. He resolved to leave as soon as he had some indication of evilness.

Jack's wife was also a ghost hunter, and quicker at figuring things out than he was. She hated ghosts as much as he did. How long would it take her to notice that he was no longer alive? How long until she noticed his powers acting up? What would she do when she found out? Her hatred of ghosts ran too deep for her to accept him, so she would probably disown him or at worst destroy him. It was only a matter of time.

Jack had raised his children to fear ghosts. How would they react to finding out about him? They wouldn't react favorably, that was certain. There would be fear and anger. Jazz would likely try to help him move on, once the grief had subsided. She was like that. But Danny, unpredictable Danny, might disown him, might attack him, might lose what little trust in his father he had. In his eyes, Jack would certainly no longer be Jack. He would be a monster.

Was he really even a ghost? His powers did flicker on and off, and sometimes he seemed almost normal. That shouldn't be possible. Maybe, if he didn't remember dying, he got the abilities some other way? Maybe constant exposure? But Maddie had just as much exposure as he did, and she was normal. And then if he _was_ only part ghost, would he maybe be able to get rid of the ghost pieces without damaging himself? Jack wasn't prepared to risk it. He didn't know how such an operation would affect him, or even to what extent the ghost had fused with him.

It all boiled down to this. He couldn't tell anyone. He didn't know enough to do anything about it. He had to watch himself at all times. His wife might kill him and his children wouldn't want to have anything to do with him. He was terrified of the consequences, and of not knowing how this had happened.

When Maddie and Jazz came home, they found Jack in the same position on the bed, obviously worried. When questioned, he muttered something about feeling like a failure, which Maddie took to mean that he hadn't managed to fix the Profiler yet. She moved aside as he pushed past her, saying he wanted to be alone. She turned to follow him and quickly lost him. Almost like he had disappeared. She shrugged, deciding that he would talk to her when he was ready.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to coolgirlc, CalicoKitty13, Silent Elegy, Phantomdragon333, Jenna Dax, Ghostboy814, katiesparks, Dragon of Despair, and linkmaste._

Jack made his way up to the Op Center, one of the few places he figured he might be alone. He felt slightly guilty about deliberately becoming invisible to avoid his wife, but he needed to work through this alone. He pressed his forehead against the glass, hoping the coolness would calm his mind like it often did. He felt the chill run through his body and shivered. He was just about to pull back from the window when he found himself sliding forward. Then he was falling through the air. He tried to activate the flying again, but his powers seemed to be overridden by panic. Then they seemed to catch and he was moving upwards and away from his house. But no, he was still in the curled up position he had been falling in. Someone must be carrying him. Someone had saved him.

He turned his head to look, and saw Danny Phantom's face just inches away. The ghost seemed worried, and maybe even a little frightened, which was odd for a ghost. They were dead, so there was nothing left to worry about. Or was there?

"It's okay. You're new at this. It always takes time to adjust and get things under control."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere we won't be disturbed. I've been watching you for a while, and you look like you need someone to talk to. I don't want people to see us, 'cause I don't get the best reaction in the world."

That sounded like a sincere answer and Jack's first reaction was to trust the ghost. But then a small voice piped up in his mind, reminding him that Phantom willfully attacked the mayor and destroyed countless buildings almost on a daily basis. Phantom was an evil ghost, no doubt about it.

"How do I know if I can trust you?" Phantom seemed have been expecting this.

"If I were evil I would have just let you fall." He sounded bored, as if he had to give that kind of answer a lot. Jack believed him enough to trust him for the moment, at least.

Several minutes of silence later, Phantom set him down on the island in the middle of Amity Lake.

"You're Jack Fenton, aren't you?"

"Was. I don't know who I am anymore." Phantom nodded.

"Same with me when I started out. It really helps to have someone to talk to, you know. So why don't you just tell me everything. Maybe I can help you?" Phantom seemed to be genuinely helpful, and still had the worried air about him.

"I don't ever remember dying, and everyone seems to think I'm still alive. I can't bring myself to correct them. Maddie and I have taught my family to hate and fear ghosts, and I don't know what they'd think of me if they found out that I am one. I have to look after my family though, or I'd leave. If I'm going to turn evil, I _should_ leave so they don't get hurt. But I've got to protect them, because I know there are worse ghosts out there. And I can't shake the feeling that I'm being hypocritical by being a dead ghost hunter either."

"Don't worry. Your problems are nothing compared to mine, trust me. Actually ... no, you've got it bad, but I'm definitely worse. No one trusts a teenager. And if you were going to be evil, I think you'd know already, or at least have signs. Not all ghosts _are_ evil, contrary to popular belief. Some just want to be left alone or help people."

_Like you_, thought Jack, and his little voice added, _at least, that's what you want us to believe._

"You shouldn't leave your family either. They do need you, and it's not going to harm them, as long as you can stay under the radar. I can't imagine if ... my dad had left my family." Phantom sounded thoughtful. "You know, there's this ... _theory_ in the Ghost Zone that a human-ghost hybrid should be possible, given the right conditions. I've never heard of one before, but maybe you're an example. You certainly look different now than you did before."

"I do?" Jack looked down. His trademark jumpsuit was gone. It had been replaced by a dark forest green tunic and loose black pants. He retained his gloves, but they had gone from plasticized latex to leather. The clothes felt ... different, but comfortable. Nothing compared to the orange jumpsuit, though. He started moving around to get the feel of the costume.

"A hybrid, you say? How would that work?"

"Well, the theory is that if a human gets surrounded by massive amounts of ectoplasm, maybe with some sort of electrical charge to it, that the ectoplasm will bind to their DNA and give them ghost powers and a ghost body, along with the human one. Like I said, I hadn't heard of one until now." Jack's gut feeling to that statement was that Phantom was lying. The father in him kicked in and Jack didn't mention his suspicions. His companion probably had a good reason for not mentioning what he really knew. Trying to protect someone, maybe.

"But I've never been in that kind of situation. My powers suddenly started acting up a couple weeks ago. I haven't been able to think of a trigger. I can't control my powers either, and keep having to leave to fix the problem. Someone's going to get figure it out eventually."

"You'd be surprised..." muttered Phantom. Jack looked at him curiously. The boy rallied. "I mean, people can be pretty blind to the truth if they think it's unbelievable. If they haven't noticed anything odd yet, you're probably okay."

_He's covering again_, thought Jack. Out loud he said, "It's been good talking with you, Phantom, and I guess I did need to get that stuff off my chest. I think I'm going to have to rethink my opinion of you." Phantom looked surprised and grateful at that. "I really need to be getting home, though. Maddie will be worried, and it's getting late. Could we talk again, maybe?"

"Sure, I guess." Phantom's voice had undertones of hesitation. "When do you want me to come by? I'm kinda a tough guy to find." He laughed, trying to ease the mood.

"Sunday night, maybe, if it's not too difficult?"

"Shouldn't be a problem." Jack noted that Phantom didn't sound too confident of that and wondered again what the ghost teen was hiding. He shouldn't have any ties anymore, or any emotions. Something stirred in Jack's memory and he shifted nervously.

"How do I get home from here?"

"Fly. Here, just jump into the air and don't think of coming back down." Jack tried this and failed. "It might help if you close your eyes." Jack shut his eyes and bounced. When he didn't feel the pull of gravity, he opened them again. Phantom was floating beside him, just above the tree line.

"'Kay, now just think about moving forward..." Jack shot off into the night, and Phantom followed closely, to make sure he didn't run into trouble. Jack fought to suppress a laugh. He'd dreamed of flying ever since he was a kid. Maybe being dead, or half-dead, wasn't so bad, if he got to fly whenever he wanted. His joy was cut short, however, when he found himself over the Op Center again.

"How do I go back to human?"

"Think about it, I guess. I wouldn't know exactly."

_Right_, thought Jack,_ Phantom is a _full_ ghost._

He descended, managed to get back to human, then turned to look at Phantom, who gave a salute and flew off into the night. Jack quietly crept downstairs again and climbed into bed. Maddie was already asleep, bless her, and soon Jack's snores filled the air.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to DragonSword35d, Halfa-NariMaruko, silvermoonphantom, CalicoKitty13, coolgirlc, Rob Phantom, katiesparks, Silent Elegy, Skittles the Sugar Fairy, Jenna Dax, Ghostboy814, SummersSixEcho, ghostotter, phantomshadowdragon, Blues59, Imber Constantine, and Serenity the Fallen._

Danny Phantom, part-time hero, hovered above the Op Center at FentonWorks and watched Jack Fenton transform from ghost back to human. _Now that's something I thought I'd never see. _He gave a salute and flew away. Sam was expecting him back soon, because his patrol time was done.

On his way to his friend's house, Phantom thought about the events of the evening. He now had proof of his suspicions that Jack Fenton had somehow become a halfa. He was genuinely concerned about the man. He didn't seem to be taking it well, but Phantom couldn't blame him for that. He had a lot of prejudice to overcome. It was a good sign, though, that Jack was willing to accept and befriend Phantom. The odd thing about it all was that there hadn't been an accident like the one that had created him, and there wasn't any other way that he knew of how someone could gain ghost powers.

No, wait, there was. About eight months ago the wishing ghost Desiree had appeared in Amity Park for the first time and granted Phantom's other friend, Tucker, his wish to have ghost powers like Phantom's. The ghost had managed to get rid of the spectral energy within his friend, and had been left unnerved by the experience. And Jack Fenton had told him that he'd had the powers for about two weeks, which would coincide with the latest appearance of Desiree. But Jack would never wish for ghost powers, and he'd certainly remember if he did. So what had the man wanted? Phantom would have to ask him on Sunday.

Phantom flew in through the window of Sam's bedroom and landed on the floor. Sam and Tucker looked up from the bed where they had been playing video games to acknowledge his presence. They turned the television off when they saw his face and watched as two rings of light appeared and their friend became Danny Fenton, Jack's son, once more. They ended up discussing this newest ghost situation for two hours until they were too tired to talk any longer.

---

The next weekend found Jack flying over Amity Park on a dark night and enjoying the feeling of the wind moving through his body. Suddenly, he heard a quiet pop behind him and the next thing he knew he had been hit in the back and sent spiraling into a building. Dazed, he looked up again to see a female figure in a glittering deep red bodysuit. She was hovering on a jet sled and had several guns aimed straight at him.

"You're going down, ghost." The Red Hunter of Amity Park, someone Jack actually admired for her determination and skill at fighting ghosts, was now trying to destroy him. Jack dodged blasts first from the left, then the right. He wasn't used to evading fire in the air. The ground was his element. He started flying, trying to lose her in the buildings. After ten minutes of heated pursuit he gave up, exhausted. The only thing left was to defend himself and he really didn't want to harm a fellow ghost hunter. He concentrated and tried to summon an ectoblast like Phantom had taught him to. He managed to get his hand to glow before the Hunter hit him in the chest with an ectopulse and started flying straight at him again. Jack ducked and came up behind her. She expected this and turned around, readying her weapons. Unfortunately, she was so focused on Jack that a green ectoblast from the right caught her off guard and she slammed into a building. Jack froze, afraid that another ghost had come to get him, but then he caught sight of Phantom and relaxed.

The Hunter got her balance back and spat, "Phantom." Phantom hissed back, "Valerie." Jack was curious how Phantom knew her real name. Well, how did Phantom know anything about Amity Park, really? Probably spied on people when he wasn't fighting ghosts. Phantom continued.

"Leave him alone. He's harmless and he hasn't done anything. You want me, so come on."

"You got yourself a deal, ghost boy." Phantom and "Valerie" flew off in a high-speed chase, the ghost avoiding the girl's weapons better than Jack could with his bulk. He took the opportunity to head home. He looked into Danny's room as he headed to bed. His son's bed was unmade but empty. Danny had left? Why? Jack was too tired to go look for his son, and made a mental note to ground him in the morning.

As Jack lay in bed, he realized that Phantom had probably just saved his life, maybe at the expense of his own existence. That certainly wasn't the mark of a hardened criminal, and from Jack's talks with him, Phantom actually seemed like one of the good guys. Jack thought back to a few other fights he'd seen Phantom take part in, and it was possible to see Phantom as actually fighting the ghosts rather than the humans. Did Amity Park have a fourth ghost hunter that no one recognized? Jack decided to improve his skills with his powers enough to help Phantom fight. If he'd gotten these abilities, he might as well put them to good use. With Phantom's proficiency, ghost powers might actually be better at defeating ghosts than ectoweapons. Too bad Jack was unable to share this with anyone. He drifted off thinking about what he could do to improve.


	6. Chapter 6

_I am sad to say that I cannot keep posting chapters every 200 hits, for the sole reason that I'm getting more than that number in twelve hours, and I'd like to keep posts a day apart, minimum. So look for the next chapter tomorrow-ish._

Thanks to TallieCat, Red's-Fury, CalicoKitty13, Halfa-MariNaruko, Jenna Dax, kawaii chibi shun, coolgirlc, dannyphantomfanaticandDxSshipper, Suuntavaisto, TailsFreak2, Dragon of Dispair, phantomshadowdragon, DragonSword35d, Sevenstar, katiesparks, Ghostboy814, and Rob Phantom. 

Jack and Phantom met periodically for the next month and Jack gained decent control of his powers. Even his aim was improving. They had discovered that Jack had the exact powers that Phantom did. Granted, Phantom was able to do several things that Jack wasn't, such as the Ghostly Wail, but they put that down to Jack's inexperience.

Phantom also shared what he knew firsthand about ghosts with Jack, who constantly had questions about them. Much of what he learned was useful and enlightening, and Jack had begun to use his new knowledge of ghosts to formulate some new weapons, that in theory should have worked wonderfully and only trained onto ghosts to boot. They still pointed at Danny, however. There was just something about the boy, he guessed. Jack had mistaken Danny for a ghost several times, unfortunately, and used the new weapons to attack his son. Danny was now avoiding him like the plague. Jack supposed he couldn't blame the boy. It hurt, though, because Danny had been the Fenton child who actually talked to Jack once in a while. Jazz had given up on her parents' sanity long ago.

The two ghosts also spent a lot of time talking about Jack's problems with his family. Jack talked about how he hadn't spoken with Danny in two weeks and rarely ever got to see him. He told Phantom about how much it hurt him that Jazz, his daughter, no longer wanted anything to do with her parents and was eagerly looking forward to moving out. He talked about his troubles with his inventions. Phantom was sympathetic to all of Jack's problems and pointed out what his children were probably thinking that could cause their behaviour. He even came up with a couple suggestions for things Jack could try. Jack hadn't had a lot of luck with the suggestions about Danny, though. Strangely, Phantom seemed to get uncomfortable sometimes when they were talking about Jack's son. Jack figured that Phantom still missed his family, or wished he had one, or something like that. He was fairly certain that, if ghosts could have cried, Phantom would have, on several occasions.

Jack and Phantom had talked at length about how Jack could have become a "halfa," which appeared to be the name ghosts had given to the theoretical half-ghost being. Since Jack was adamant that he hadn't ever been exposed to massive quantities of ectoplasm, they were trying to come up with some other explanation. The best one had been Phantom's idea. He had told Jack at their first official meeting that there was a ghost, Desiree, who unconditionally granted wishes. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't think of anything he could have said that would have given him ghost powers, and neither could Phantom.

Jack would occasionally help Phantom fight off the ghosts who were attacking Amity Park. He didn't do it too often, however, either as a ghost or a human, because he was afraid of being recognized as a ghost and he felt he needed to maintain appearances with his family as an unconditional ghost hater. Phantom seemed to understand, explaining to Jack that he had been defending the town single-handedly for months. Jack wasn't completely certain about Phantom working alone, because he'd seen two figures around Phantom before and after his "change." He didn't know who or what they were, however, because he'd always been at a distance from them. They did seem familiar, though.

He could tell that Phantom was protecting someone or something and he'd been unable to figure out what it was. The ghost was similar to Danny in that respect, actually. Danny was stubbornly uncommunicative when he chose, and these days it seemed like he always did. Danny was definitely hiding something too, and Phantom had no tips on that count, but had managed to convince Jack that using his ghost powers to spy on his son was probably not the way to go.

Through his interactions with Phantom, Jack had come to see the ghost as a sort of surrogate son, the kind of child he wished he had. The spectre was brave, loyal, dedicated, intelligent, and a good fighter and strategist. He hoped that Phantom had maybe come to see him as a father figure too, and was glad whenever the ghost seemed to trust him. That was another good thing about his newfound abilities: they had given him a second chance at fathering. Jack was determined not to let it go to waste.


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks to Halfa-MariNaruko, Dragonsword35d, Jenna Dax, coolgirlc, Phantom of a Rose, Ghostboy814, Ohka Breynekai, LyokoDragon, thephantomgal10, fireabe90, HKPMKEJQSGQLV, phantomshadowdragon, Officer 1BDI, Rob Phantom, kyuubithedemonlord, Kirstyn T., purrbaby101,and dPhantoMfreak._

_(Jenna, I hope your speech went well. Congratulations on graduating.)_

_(dPhantoMfreak, I don't expect my "fan following" to review every single chapter, so don't worry. And I _have _been updating really quickly.)_

Jack was working in the lab alone when his Ghost Sense went off. He picked up the invention he had been working on and turned around slowly, his jaw set. A deep green woman dressed like a belly dancer was floating in front of the Portal. There was a cruel smirk on her face.

"Jack Fenton. How are you liking these little powers of yours?"

"Back, ghost, or I'll shoot!"

"You're not much of a ghost hunter, are you? Phantom would have hit me already. Don't you have the guts? Are you _scared_?"

"Did you give me these powers?"

"Of course I did. You asked for them, and it is my duty to give people what they want."

"I didn't ask to be half-ghost."

"Yes, Jack, you did, though those weren't your exact words. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. Mind you, you _are_ a little of a laughing stock in the Ghost Zone."

_Wait a minute_, thought Jack, _she's a wishing ghost. She has to grant wishes, doesn't she?_ Jack prided himself on his brilliant idea, even while he was internally fuming about being mocked by the very creatures he hated.

"I wish you would tell me what my wish was." Desiree glared at him, obviously not expecting that he would think of that.

"I wish I could share your problems, son. Good luck, Jack." She dove back into the Ghost Zone before Jack could do or say anything further. He stared after her for a moment. If sharing his son's problems meant becoming half-ghost, did that mean Danny was a ghost? Or a halfa, to be more accurate? But that couldn't be possible because Danny didn't have ghost powers and had never been exposed to enough ectoplasm to fit Phantom's theory. Well, there had been the lab accident ten months ago, but Danny had been outside the Portal the whole time. Sam and Tucker had vouched for it.

Speaking of Phantom, he'd told Jack several times that he hadn't heard of any other halfas, and he had to admit that Phantom seemed to be more of an expert on ghosts than Jack was. He trusted Phantom to tell him the truth (except for whatever it was he was protecting, of course).

Besides, Jack would know if his son had ghost powers. He would have seen evidence. Hold on. He _had_ seen evidence, but had dismissed it or ignored it like he had when he first got his powers. Danny would run off and sometimes disappear entirely. Every ghost weapon Jack and Maddie had ever come up with picked him out as a ghost. Danny was wary of others and jumped at the slightest noise, like Jack had started doing after he became involved in regular ghost attacks. Still, his own son couldn't be a ghost, if only because Jack had never seen a ghost version of the boy, and he knew he would recognize his own son if he saw him.

Jack turned back to the counter and began to work on his invention again in an attempt to tune out the confusion that had sprung up in his mind again. He gave up several minutes later after he broke the screwdriver and went to find Phantom. He needed to talk.


	8. Chapter 8

_I think I jinxed myself. As soon as I tell people that I'm getting a massive amount of hits each day, it slows down. Really, guys, did Chapter 6 just turn everyone off my story or something? I know it didn't have any action in it, but it couldn't have been _that_ bad. _

_Thanks to DragonSword35d, ilikedan, Halfa-MariNaruko, phantomshadowdragon, Ghostboy814, kawaii chibi shun, linkmaste, purrbaby101, Jenna Dax, My Eternal Facade, Lt. Commander Richie, and Kirstyn.T._

_Halfa-MariNaruko: That's blackmail! And don't worry about writer's block. I think Ghost Writer's possessed me because I can't _stop_ writing._

Jack found Phantom patrolling the air above the city. He flew up alongside him and began to keep pace. Phantom acknowledged his presence and they chatted briefly. Then Phantom asked him what the trouble was. He could see that Jack had something on his mind.

"I just got a visit from Desiree. She said I have these powers because I wished to share my son's problems. I was just ..."

"You _did_?" Phantom blurted. Panic flashed across his face before he managed to compose himself again. "I mean, you did? You were that worried about him?"

"Yes. But it got me thinking. Does that mean that Danny's a halfa?"

"Um, not necessarily. Desiree's wish granting tends to go wrong a lot, like she perverts the wishes or something. This could just be a metaphor or something, to show what his life is like."

"All right." Jack didn't understand metaphor well. He was too direct. "I suppose that makes sense. But Danny's showing a lot of the same symptoms I am. Running off, the weapons, the jumpiness... Are you sure he's not a halfa?"

"Like I said, I haven't heard of any others. Just you." Phantom's voice was quavering.

"It wouldn't hurt to ask him, would it?"

"Not if you do it nicely, I guess. I wouldn't run in there and fire a weapon at him or anything."

"What sort of things should I say? You seem to know how teenagers these days think."

"Umm... wait till he's alone and then chat for a bit with him. Let him know you're a friend. Then maybe mention that you've figured out that ghost hybrids are possible, or something, and say that the Portal accident might have triggered ghost powers in him. And then you ask. And promise not to kill him or anything, because he might not tell you if he thinks you're going to hurt him."

"And that will work?"

"Should."

"Thanks. Need any help out here?"

"Nah. I'm good, thanks." Jack flew off and headed home.

---

That evening Jack Fenton went up to his son's room and knocked.

"Danny? Got a sec?"

"Sure, I guess." Jack pushed the door open and sat beside Danny on the bed. Danny kept the magazine he'd been reading raised so that it obscured his face below his eyes.

"How are things? Enjoying the summer?"

"Yeah. Really great. Loving it."

"What did you do today?"

"Hung out with Sam and Tucker." Danny cocked an eyebrow. "Why the sudden interrogation?"

"Just realized we hadn't talked in a while and wanted to catch up with you. Can't I be interested in my son for once?"

"Guess so."

"Want to hear my latest ghost theory?"

"Sure, Dad, go ahead." Danny sounded resigned. For a moment Jack considered not going through with the plan. But he'd gotten this far, and he wanted to know.

"Well, ectoplasm can stick to a lot of organic matter, make it have ghostly attributes, like those hot dogs last fall, and I got to thinking, what if you stuck a human in a vat of ectoplasm? Would it make them become a ghost?"

"Lemme guess. You want to test it on me."

"No, Danny boy, of course not! I'd never harm my son like that. I just thought that, well, if you were inside the Portal when it turned on..."

"That I might have _ghost powers_? I _told_ you, Dad. I was outside the Portal. I've never been near that much ectoplasm in my life."

"Oh." Jack was disappointed, even though he knew that Danny probably wouldn't have told him anyway. "But I thought, your change in behaviour, your problems in school..." Danny sighed.

"Dad, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm glad you worry, and I understand why you do, but I'm okay. My problems are something I have to deal with on my own. You and Mom don't need to get involved. Actually, you might make it worse if you do. So, just leave me alone. Okay? If I really need help, I'll come to you, but I'm doing fine on my own right now." It was the same speech he'd given his parents on many other occasions.

"All right. I won't push, then. But I would feel better if I at least knew what was going on."

"I just ... can't, Dad. If I tell you, you'll get involved, whether you mean to or not. Just leave it, Dad."

"If you ever..."

"I told you, if I need help, you'll be the first to know." Danny smiled and Jack gave up. He wasn't going to get anything out of his son tonight. He left the room and headed to the Op Center. He needed to fly to clear his mind.

---

Danny looked out of his window several minutes later to see his father, in ghost mode, fly past. He sighed. _I wish I could find some way to get rid of those powers before he gets any more suspicious. And before Vlad finds out. I've got to keep it secret or Dad will be in danger from Vlad, and I _really _don't want that. I just wish I didn't have to hurt him to keep him safe. _


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Longest chapter of the story, I think. The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived!_

_Thanks to Serenity the Fallen, Halfa-MariNaruko, Lt. Commander Richie, Ghostboy814, CalicoKitty13, Ohka Breynekai, phantomshadowdragon, Rob Phantom, Miss Selarne, Maki-Sama, Jenna Dax, and Kirstyn.T._

A week after his conversation with Danny, Jack heard screams and the smashing of masonry coming from downtown. He'd taken the Ghost Assault Vehicle on a test drive to check out the latest improvements and did a massive U-turn to get back to downtown. He parked the GAV on a side street and realized that the fight going on in the skies above him called for ghost powers rather than ghost weaponry. He also noticed that Phantom seemed to be suffering pretty badly. Jack quickly went ghost (but without the battle cry, because he wasn't one for that sort of showiness) and flew out of the GAV to join Phantom in the air.

"Hey!" yelled Phantom. "Thanks for coming!"

"You know I can't pass up a ghost attack! What is this thing?"

"Giant ghost bat. Try to avoid the eyes!" Jack noticed that several parts of Phantom's outfit were badly burnt, down to the skin, and the wounds were oozing.

"Don't look, Jack. Fight!" Phantom glared at the halfa hovering beside him as he shot a series of ectoblasts at the bat. "Would you stop moving already?" In response the bat swiped a wing at Phantom and sent him tumbling through the air. Jack started attacking the ghost then too, to draw its attention from Phantom, who was clutching his stomach in pain. Ectoplasm was seeping out between his fingers. The claw on the edge of the wing must have gotten him.

"Phantom! Are you ok-..."

"No! I'm hurt too badly to fight any more. I'll be fine in a while, but I could get myself killed up here."

"Go, then. I'll deal with it." Phantom shot him a grateful look and dove down towards the ground. Jack's eyes followed him to see where he landed. Despite Phantom's assurances, he was never quite as "okay" as he said, and that wound looked like it would need some serious medical attention. If you could actually use medicine to heal a ghost. Jack had to admit that he didn't know.

The moment of thought cost Jack, as the bat came in for a pass at him. Jack noticed it at the last second, but was too late to avoid the rays from its eyes. They burned a trail across his chest and he cried out. He shot a few ectoblast at the monster before it disappeared. Jack looked around desperately for it and then felt two groups of claws dig into his back. He found himself moving upwards far too rapidly for his liking. He noted that the bat was intent on flying and quickly unhooked the Fenton Thermos he'd attached to his belt. He aimed it upward at the ghost's head and activated it. Caught off guard, it didn't even have time to respond before it was sucked in. Jack capped the Thermos and composed himself. Then he headed back down towards the alley he'd seen Phantom fly into.

He landed behind a dumpster and changed back to human. Only then did he take the time to examine himself. His jumpsuit was torn in several places and he was bleeding, though not badly. Phantom was definitely worse. Jack looked around for his friend and didn't see him. He was about to fly off again in search of the ghost when he saw a crumpled heap of white in the shadows. Nothing should be that white in an alley. Jack went to investigate. As he approached the whiteness he realized that it was clothing. A T-shirt. Jack bent down and gently rolled the body over.

"Danny?" What on earth was his son doing in an alleyway? What was he getting up to that he would end up here, unconscious? Jack lifted his hand and noticed there was something hot and sticky on it. Blood. _Blood!_ With flecks of green in it. Jack looked down at his son again. His shirt and pants were torn in the same places he remembered Phantom's costume being torn only minutes ago, and his son had a massive wound on his stomach, exactly where Phantom's had been.

Jack sat back in shock. His son had the exact injuries that Phantom did, ectoplasm in his blood, and was in the alley where he'd last seen Phantom. This wasn't possible. Danny _couldn't_ be the ghost boy. But now that Jack was thinking it, he had to admit that, allowing for colour differences, Phantom and his son _did_ look remarkably similar. And there _were_ all those clues that Phantom had dismissed too.

No sense dwelling on the possibilities when his son might be bleeding to death in his arms. Jack carefully picked the boy up and carried him, invisible so as not to attract attention, into the Ghost Assault Vehicle. He set Danny down on the fold-out bed (the GAV doubled as an RV) and dug out the First Aid kit from the bathroom cabinet. He was almost finished treating his son's wounds when the boy stirred.

"Jack? What happened?"

"Quiet, Danny. Don't move." Jack applied the rest of the bandages and pinned them closed. "Don't try to get up. I did my best but I think you might need stitches."

"The ghost... did you...?"

"Yes, I got him. Why didn't you tell me you were Phantom, Danny?"

"Why didn't you tell Mom you were a halfa?" his son shot back.

"Good point. I'm sorry, son. For everything."

"It's okay. You didn't know. Actually, I've learned a lot about you this last month. I'm sorry too. I probably should have told you once you'd become friends with Phantom. I guess I just liked it so much that you weren't trying to kill me that I didn't want to risk it."

"You _were_ inside the Portal, weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"And you've been doing this alone for the last ten months? Danny, you really should have told us."

"I'm not _completely_ alone. Sam and Tucker help. And like I said, I couldn't. I didn't even want you guys to find out on your own. It's too dangerous."

"How can it be? I don't understand."

"There's a ghost out there who hates me and if he finds out you know about me, or that you have ghost powers, he's going to do something terrible."

"So you haven't told us to protect us?"

"Basically. But I was afraid you'd try to kill me or do experiments too."

"We wouldn't have. We won't. You're our _son_."

"Thanks. But I was worried." There was a slightly awkward silence, then Jack spoke again.

"So I guess this solves the mystery of my powers."

"Yeah. We can get rid of them, if you want. All we have to do is find Desiree and make another wish."

"I have to think about that. Some of the powers are pretty fun."

"Yeah, I know. Like flying." Danny sighed, imagining the feel of the breeze in his face. So did Jack.

"Come on, son. Let's get you home." Jack stood up from Danny's bedside and climbed into the driver's seat. He started the engine and actually drove home carefully so that his son wouldn't get hurt from the sudden stops and turns. Once they were home, Jack picked up Danny, who was still too hurt to walk, and went into the house through the back door. Jazz was working at the kitchen table and jumped up when she saw them enter.

"Danny! What happened?"

"Ghost bat. I'll be okay. Don't worry."

"Danny..." Jazz flicked her eyes up to her dad's face, as if to say "he's right _here_. What about your secret?"

"It's all right, Jazzypants, I know."

"You know what?"

"Danny's the ghost boy. I saw him land in an alley and went in to finally catch him, and there was Danny."

"You're okay with it?"

"I have to be, don't I? We talked a little on the way home. I'm proud of him, actually."

"Okay. Let's get Danny upstairs. How bad are the wounds this time? And where did you get yours?"

"Long story, Jazz," said Danny. "Let's just get upstairs."

"Danny should be okay, but he might need stitches. He got clawed in the stomach. You knew, Jazz?" She nodded, her mouth set determinedly.

The two Fentons laid Danny down on his bed and Jazz carefully removed the bandages to examine the wound.

"Pretty ugly, but it looks like it's healing already. You aren't going to need stitches, Danny, but you probably shouldn't get up for a while." Jazz started wrapping Danny's abdomen in new bandages. Watching his daughter, Jack realized that she must do this fairly often. This was no life for either child, and he said so.

"It needs doing, Dad. So, how did _you_ get hurt?"

"I was fighting the bat too. It was shooting rays out of its eyes and I got hit."

"You know that big ghost that's been around the last month or so? That's Dad."

Jazz glanced at her father. "Thought it might be, but I didn't want to say anything. How'd it happen?"

"Desiree. He wanted to share my problems." At that moment the doorbell rang.

"You'd better get that, Dad. I've got blood on my hands and Mom's out shopping."

Jack went downstairs and opened the door to Sam and Tucker.

"Hi, Mr. Fenton. Is Danny around? He was supposed to meet us at the Nasty Burger an hour ago and we can't find him anywhere."

"He's up in his room. He got hurt fighting a ghost."

Sam looked hard at Jack, wondering why he would say that. It wasn't like Danny to actually tell him what he was doing. Did that mean that Mr. Fenton had found out his son's secret? When her scrutiny was finished she ran upstairs after Tucker.

"Danny! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. And before you ask, Dad knows about me. We were fighting off this bat together and I got a claw in the stomach and couldn't fight anymore. So I left before I got exposed and Dad followed me when he caught the ghost but I'd changed back to human and he sort of figured it out."

"He seems okay with it."

"He is. He's gotten to be pretty good friends with Phantom, remember, and doesn't think he's a bad ghost anymore."

"So, you going to tell your mom, then?"

"Probably. I mean, we know Dad will at some point without even realizing it, and I'd rather Mom heard it from me first."

Danny chatted with his friends for a while, and then they had to go home for dinner. Danny heard noises in the kitchen, meaning that his mom was home and probably cooking. He gingerly climbed out of bed and managed to stand. He'd made it to the top of the stairs before Jazz heard him and forced him back into bed.

"Jazz, I've got to tell Mom before Dad does."

"Then I'll send her up. Just be warned, I don't think anyone's told her about your injuries yet."

"Could you prep her, then? And I want you to stand guard outside when she comes up, in case she overreacts."

"You got it, little brother."

A few minutes later a very worried Maddie Fenton rushed into her son's room.

"Sweetie, Jazz said you got hurt in a ghost attack today. They didn't poison you or anything, did they? Ectoplasmic poison is twice as deadly as the regular stuff."

"No, Mom, I just got cut, that's all."

Maddie pulled back the covers. "That's _all_? You've got bandages everywhere."

"I'm fine, Mom. I've had worse. But look, I need to tell you something, and I want you to hear it from me before anyone else tells you."

"All right, dear." Maddie sat down beside Danny on the bed and ruffled his hair. He swatted her away.

"You know how I was the one who got the Portal to turn on last year?"

"Mm-hm."

"Well, it was because I pushed the ON button inside the machine, and ..."

"You were _inside_ the Portal when it turned on? But that should have killed you."

"It kinda did." Danny laughed nervously. Maddie looked at him, puzzled. "See, Mom, ghost-human hybrids are actually possible, even if you don't think so."

"Danny, they ca-" Maddie stopped mid-word as two rings of blue light appeared at her son's waist. A moment later an equally injured Danny Phantom was lying on the bed next to her.

"I didn't say anything before because, well, a lot of reasons I don't really want to go into. Mainly, I was scared."

"So I've been attacking my own son the whole time?"

"Yeah. I'm really glad Dad can't aim." That made his mom laugh.

"I don't blame you for keeping quiet about this, Danny, especially since we were after you. But I'm glad you told me. I won't have to worry any more." She paused. "Are you going to tell your father?"

"He found out this afternoon, after he saw Phantom land in an alley and ran in to catch him. I wanted you to hear it from me, not him."

"Thanks, Danny. That was considerate. I wouldn't have believed your father. I'll bring dinner up to you. I don't want you moving for a while."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks. Don't worry about me, though. I heal quickly." Danny smiled as his mom left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to Jillie Chan,Ghostboy814, Serenity the Fallen, Jenna Dax, Deleila, epobbp, werewulf, Halfa-MariNaruko, Rob Phantom, Rolling Stone, iloveJesusJohnnyandDanny, dPhantoMfreak, purrbaby101, and Rain the Revenant.

_Jenna: You're almost right. Sam and Tucker do know about Jack, but he doesn't know they know. Danny told them after he met Jack Phantom for the first time._

_Rain: Not every story needs to have protagonist-antagonist conflict. The conflict here is basically Jack Fenton vs Jack Phantom and a little Jack vs Danny, all internal and mental stuff. I was aiming to make this a father-son bonding story and felt that throwing Vlad into the mix would just make it too complicated. And I had a really tough time with Maddie and eventually just gave up. Sorr, I know she's a little OOC.._

That evening, Jack carried Danny downstairs and set him on the couch. Maddie wanted to hear her son's side of the story and compare notes with him about ghosts. Jack was interested in listening too, since he would likely hear some things that Phantom hadn't wanted to tell him before. Even Jazz showed up, for moral support.

Danny talked for several hours about how he'd learned to use his powers, how he had battled ghost after ghost to save the town, how he'd become frustrated several times at not being able to lead a normal life and being constantly accused of maliciousness, how he had to worry about being discovered at every moment, and how he'd gotten enemies in both worlds. He gave them details on all the major ghosts he'd fought, but left out as much as he could about his archenemy Vlad Plasmius, in case his parents caught on that he was also a halfa, and someone they knew.

Maddie was amazed by most of what Danny said, although she realized that being half ghost certainly explained most, if not all, of his unusual behaviour. She expressed her sympathies when he spoke of the depressions and difficulties he'd gone through, and tried to comfort Danny as much as possible. When he finished she left her chair and wrapped her arms around her son.

"I still can't completely understand why you didn't tell us, Danny, but I want you to know that we will always be here for you and that you can count on us anytime."

"I know, Mom. Thanks."

Jack cleared his throat. "There's one more thing, Maddie. About a month ago I was worried about Danny and wished I could share his problems. Unfortunately, that wishing ghost, Desiree, overheard me and, well, gave me ghost powers too."

His wife had to strain to hear the last few words because Jack had mumbled them. "Show me," she demanded. Jack complied and went ghost. Danny spoke up again.

"Like I told you guys, it's dangerous for you to know about me, and it's really dangerous for Dad to have ghost powers. If my archenemy finds out, it could be the end of our family, and I don't want to see that happen."

"Can we get rid of the powers?" asked Maddie. Jack shook his head.

"Not with machines. The ectoplasm's fused too much with the rest of my body to pull it out safely, and the Ghost Catcher does strange things to halfas, apparently. Danny says we should be able to get Desiree to do it, though." Jack sounded glum even though he was trying to put on the face of boisterousness and bravery that he normally wore.

"Jack? What's the matter?"

"I like the powers, actually. I understand I shouldn't have them and that it's dangerous to keep them, but I still want to."

"Would it make you feel better, Dad, if I took you flying every once in a while?"

"I _guess_ so."

"And you would still get to fight ghosts with your inventions. You don't need powers for that," added Jazz.

"All right. I'll get rid of them. But only if Danny promises ..."

"I promise, Dad. Whenever you want."

"Okay, then," said Maddie. "We'll go find this Desiree as soon as Danny's well enough to move again. Until then, Jack, I'll understand if you want to enjoy your powers as much as you can, but try not to do anything rash. We don't want this Plasmius person to come after you." Jack reluctantly agreed.

---

It turned out that they didn't have to wait long to reverse Jack's wish. A few days after the big conversation, a rash of strange goings-on occurred at the Amity Shopping Center, most involving hugely expensive items spontaneously getting up and following people around, glowing slightly. Phantom and the Fentons were there in minutes. As they had suspected, Desiree was granting wishes right, left, and center. It wasn't very difficult for Danny to get close enough to her without her noticing.

"I wish that my dad, Jack Fenton, didn't have ghost powers any more."

"As you have wished it, so shall it ... oh. It's you." Desiree actually sounded somewhat disappointed. Who _had_ she been expecting? Anyone but Danny, certainly. She wasn't too pleased about having granted Danny's wish. He was her enemy, after all.

But the green smoke had swirled around Jack and the damage was done. Jack was powerless once again, at least in the supernatural sense. Phantom and the Fentons bombarded Desiree with their entire arsenal until she was weak enough not to be able to fight back when Danny trained the Thermos on her. He flew off to put Desiree back into the Ghost Zone as his parents began the crowd control efforts that were always needed after a ghost attack.

---

Jack sighed as he and his wife made their way back to the GAV after finishing their work at the mall. He knew that _not_ being a halfa was a good thing, but he missed it, a little. He enjoyed the freedom of not being recognized and the liberation of unaided flight. He liked the feeling he had when he was doing more to fight ghosts as one of their own. Granted, he'd never really liked the deceptions or the constant fear that being a halfa had generated in him, and it was better if no one had to live with those feelings, but he did miss the benefits. But if it kept his wife and his children safe (or safer, considering what they did in their spare time), then it was worth it in the end. At least he now knew what had gotten into Danny over the past year and could help his son out when he could. Jack realized he was a lot closer to Danny now than he had been in years, and smiled. He had his son back, and he was someone Jack could be proud of.

**The End**


End file.
